​I have been on several birding walks and no one had given instruction on how to spot birds, except the accidental one – flutter, flutter oh there’s a bird.  The technique I learned at the Chequamegon Birding and Nature Festival is straight forward and simple.  First listen.  Each species has a very distinct and unique call (no, it’s not a whistle).  With a trained ear many birders can tell you the bird just from the call.  Many of us can tell the call of a robin, a Baltimore oriel and a blue bird or even a phoebe.  A birder also uses the call to determine what direction the bird is in.  Often using sound to determine direction requires you to cup your ears, which makes you look funny walking in the woods with cupped ears.  Third look for distinctive color or markings.  A cardinal with bright red stands out as does an indigo bunting.  Other birds have distinctive markings like the red on a red wing black bird or the red headed woodpecker.  Many other birds have markings but are less distinct.  Finally you can look for certain bird behaviors or types of flight.  For example, a blue bird had a distinctive swooping flight pattern.  Many raptors, such as the eagle or turkey vulture appear to float in the sky as they ride the thermals.   The key is observation.
All writers are observers of both their environment and people.  We capture these moments and then re-create them in words to share with our readers.  We often translate the direct observation to showing the reader to help create a scene or a moment.  The most famous example is:  don’t say the moon was bright; say, moonlight bounced off the shimmering pavement. 
I will never forget the suggestion made by an editor of my first novel, Murphy’s Troubles.  I was told to “show me Ireland”.  I had not been successful in placing my characters in a physical place.  It was critical to my story that the reader be aware of the beauty and harshness of Ireland and how the geography has helped shape Irish history.  Showing Ireland required extensive re-writing but it improved the novel immensely.  I have actually had readers tell me that they feel like they have been in Ireland.
There is one aspect of birding that doesn’t affect writing – the stiff neck from constantly looking up and holding binoculars to your eyes.
Next week I’ll discuss birding by consensus.     

​In the past five years I have become fascinated by watching birds.  I know, it sounds as appealing as watching paint dry on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  Trust me, it’s not.  Recently I attended my first birding conference in Ashland, Wisconsin, the Chequamegon Bay Birding and Nature Festival hosted by the local chamber of conference.  This was their 10th year of the three day conference and 400 people attended.   With ten years’ experience this event is both a well oiled machine and an art form.
In previous years I have attended bird walks, primarily at Old World Wisconsin.  These events start at 6:30 am on a Saturday morning and are attended by about 60 people.  We divide into groups of no more than ten and a trained birder guides us through a 2-2 ½ hour hike.  It was at Old World Wisconsin that I was introduced to the art of identifying birds by their song.  As a result of that experience I learned two things about writing.
One fundamental of writing is to engage all five senses.  Before birding I had largely ignored sound in my writing.  When I re-read some of my own chapters I discovered that my characters lived in a world of silence, except human conversation.  This wasn’t natural.  All sorts of sounds surround us every day and helps create the dynamic fabric of our lives.  Adding sound in writing gives depth and adds to the reader’s experience of being in the scene.
Second, I learned the importance of listening.  Try an experiment.  Visit your local park some sunny afternoon.  Sit on a bench, maybe in the shade of an oak tree.  Close your eyes and just listen.  Then try to identify things going on around you just by their sound.  This perspective will open new worlds to you, trust me.
Anyone who wants to write needs to learn to be open to everything in the world around them.  By listening we also learn to express ourselves and use the craft of writing to share that with others.
Next week I’ll write about how birding techniques can be applied to writing both non-fiction and fiction. 

​Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to sell my books at a bookstore run by the Wisconsin Writers Association in conjunction with the annual Lake Fly Writer’s Conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  It was a unique concept.  You paid a minimal table fee and were provided space created as a mock book store.  Staff were provided to sell books.  The author received all the proceeds of the sale.  Each author participating in the bookstore was asked to donate 30 minutes to help sell books.  Each author was also given 30 minutes to sign books and mingle with participants.  When registering for the bookstore authors were asked to select the time they would work and the time they would sign books.
The trouble began with registration.  The number of tables set up for the bookstore was based on the number of authors who registered in advance and paid their fees.  There were three authors assigned per table.  Three authors showed up Saturday morning, their books in tow, wanting space in the bookstore.  None of the authors registered in advance.  I’m not sure if they paid the table fee on Saturday, I doubt it.  The person running the bookstore couldn’t tell the authors “No” and ordered another table from the conference center.  The extra table was an additional, unexpected cost.  This is bad behavior from an author.
The bookstore manager asked for people to help volunteer to set up.  Lynette and I volunteered and one other author came for set up.    The other author did absolutely nothing to help with the set up.  Instead she staked out her location in the bookstore and took a full 30 minutes to set up a display of her three books.  This was bad behavior because it was self-serving.  After helping set up the bookstore I signed up for my time to sign books.  I chose 1:00 pm, immediately after lunch.  After I signed up the early bird author signed up for the same time.  The bookstore manager explained that two authors could share the same time, I didn’t argue.  When 1:00 pm rolled around I found the author had already set up her three books and a huge purse in the signing area.  I didn’t want to be confrontational so I didn’t say anything about no space being left for me.  Again, being territorial was bad author behavior.  As it turned out people streamed out of the room after lunch to attend 1:00 pm sessions and they ignored the bookstore.  Not one person stopped by the bookstore.  I just observed and laughed to myself.
Mid-morning another author came, set up and then also signed up to do book signing at 1:00 pm which would have made three authors at that time.  I pointed out to the bookstore manager that things were out of control and it was inappropriate for the author to sign up for 1:00 pm.  The bookstore manager confronted the author and had her change her time to 1:30 pm.  This was bad behavior by the author.  As it turned out, by 1:30 pm there wasn’t a single person in the room.  I chuckled to myself again.
The same author that horned in on my “signing time” decided she didn’t like the space assigned to her in the bookstore.  On her own she moved her items to another location.  When she moved her items she moved the items for another author to make room for her books.  This was bad behavior by the author.  As luck would have it the author who was imposed upon stopped by and challenged the offending author and re-arranged her own display.  As it turns out the misbehaving author didn’t sell a single book all day – seems right to me.
In every event I’ve attended I’ve found other authors friendly, helpful, willing to share tips and their experiences in selling our own books.  This was the first time in three years that I witnessed bad behavior from authors.  I’ve thought about it and I can’t figure out what was different about this event. 
For all other author events we sell our own books and often are also responsible for the financial transactions.  The bookstore format was different; maybe some people couldn’t adjust and felt a loss of control.  Whatever the reason, authors need to remember, we will all be successful if we help each other out.  We need to cooperate, not compete.   

​I have written several separate blogs on my experiences with independent bookstores.  In total I have direct experience with five independent bookstores in two states.  Recently I just picked up by books from a Madison indie bookstore after a two year relationship and I want to summarize my experience in one blog.
Indie Bookstores have a special relationship with indie authors and bend over backward to support indie authors – THIS IS AN URBAN MYTH.
Our kids used to live in Omaha and loved an indie bookstore.  I met with the owner and gave them just 3 books on consignment, a signed agreement.  After a year I had no contact with the store.  I e-mailed them for an update on sales of my book.  I was told to e-mail the accountant.  The accountant took a month to respond.  No books were sold.  I was told in the future it would be my responsibility to contact the store on any sales, they would not report sales to me.  Ok, I just donated three books to that store.  End of relationship.
An indie bookstore in Madison offered the standard 60/40 consignment agreement (60% to author) but wanted to charge me $15 to shelf five copies of my book.  That reversed the deal to 40/60 (40% to author).  So I challenged them – are you kidding.  You know exactly the cost to shelf one book in your store?  The store easily has +2000 books.  They claimed they knew the cost and to have my book on their shelf I would have to pay the $15 in advance.  I told them I would never do that and I would also never buy a book at their store and tell as many people as I knew about their treatment of indie authors.
I spoke at a small Wisconsin town indie book store on Mother’s day.  The only customers were one guy who wandered in off the street and listened to me out of curiosity.  There were also two women who were having lunch who competed with me in volume when I began talking.  I was told there would be a special display for my book.  The special display was a small table with my book and three other books in front of the cash register.  The table was so low I didn’t even see it.  The manager agreed to pay to send my books back to me.
A well known and respected indie book store in Milwaukee had a reputation for being supportive of indie authors.  They often had at least indie authors present a week and had a special book shelf near the front door of indie authors.  Their support for indie authors was geographically limited.  Because I don’t live in Milwaukee I would have to send their reader a free copy of my book and they would decide if they would schedule an author event for me.  Since when did bookstores start screening book?  I never sent a book – it’s insulting.
I’ve had my first book at a Madison indie bookstore since January 2014 and my second book since February 2015.  I have had tremendous response to selling my books as a pair Two Books for $20.  I convinced the store owner to have a special sale on my books in April to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the 1916 Rising.  I had two special 8 ½ x 11” advertising placards made that I delivered to the bookstore.  Last week I went to pick up my books.  Since January 2014 only ONE book was sold.  There were no books sold during the April special sale.  On top of that they lost one of my advertising placards.  I couldn’t believe it.  I told the poor guy working in the store the morning I picked up my books to let the owner know to find my advertising in the next two days and mail it to me or I would send an invoice for them to pay for it.  The next day I received an e-mail from the owner telling me they found the advertising and needed my mailing address.  My mailing address is on the consignment agreement – they didn’t need to pay for it.
So my advice to indie writers – forget indie bookstores.  Do you want to know where I sold books?  I sold 30 books in one month at a bar in Columbus Wisconsin!  Too bad the bar went belly up the next month – go figure.   

​When I published my first historical novel in 2013 (can it be three years ago already?) I felt alone in the writer’s world.  Yes, I had friend writers and a cadre of friends and writing professionals that helped me launch that first book.  However, I wasn’t connected to the rest of the world.
At the time the solution was simple.  Join.  I joined everything came to my notice from people on twitter, facebook, blogs, and many author groups.  I could receive up to 10 e-mails a day with newsletters, notifications and people wanting to sell me services; especially people wanting to sell me services.  At the time, everything landed in one giant e-mail box.  I didn’t want to set up separate e-mail accounts for personal and author business.  Through my website (www.rexowens.us) I have a web e-mail account and it is rarely used, except by companies who want to sell me a service or software.
Sometime in the past two years, I don’t recall when G-mail started categorizing e-mails into primary, social, promotion and forums.   I must have set up filters to distinguish each e-mail received or maybe g-mail recommended how to do it and I just followed their recommendation.  That is the most likely isn’t it?  Anyway, that was useful and for the first time I saw how many social an promotion e-mails I receive – a lot more than primary e-mail from people I actually know.
In the last few weeks I found myself spending a lot of time deleting e-mail that I don’t read.  My wife asked me why I spent so much time in that useless activity each day.  I didn’t have an answer.  The she uttered the magic word:  Unsubscribe.  I had to ask how.  It turns out that at the very bottom of the e-mail in the tiniest print allowed there, buried among a lot of other rubbish, is the word – “Unsubscribe.”  When you click on it you’re whisked away to a screen that gives you a lot of choices about how to unsubscribe.  I always choose “All”.  There is always a box provided to tell them why you don’t want to receive their e-mails any longer.  I never fill that box in, although from the business perspective, it is useful information.  I’ve learned that if you don’t give them a reason in some cases the Unsubscribe becomes nil and void and you continue to receive the e-mails.  I think that is rude.  I keep unsubscribing until the company tires of my request and finally drop my name from their list.
It’s a refreshing experience and I estimate that I’ve gained about an hour a day which is 365 hours a year or more than 45 days.  I can do a lot of things with 45 extra days.  So, my advice to readers is – review your e-mail.  If you have e-mail that is deleted and not read – Unsubscribe.       

​Last year I started beekeeping but didn’t get a single ounce of honey.  Some may view this as a failure but I don’t.  I bought a bee package which contains three pounds of bees and a queen.  For some reason the bees didn’t accept the queen, she died.  A hive can’t survive without a queen.  I bought another queen.  My luck didn’t change, the second queen died.
My beekeeping venture is not a lonely undertaking; a friend and I are working together.  After my second queen died, we combined our bees into one big hive.  As luck would have it the merger didn’t happen until June which we learned was too late to expect any honey production.  We also learned too late that you have to buy a special box called a “super” for the bees to make honey that we could then extract.
Our goal for 2015 became getting the bees to survive a Wisconsin winter.  We learned at one of the monthly Mad Bee Association meetings we could expect to lose 50-100% of our bees over winter.  As I wrote in a previous blog our bees not only survived but prospered in early spring this year.  On April 14th we checked our hive, drones were already hatching and we had a ton of bees.  We split the one hive back into two hives and began giving them 50/50 mix syrup to hold them over until blooms started popping.  The split prevents bees from swarming.   As it turns out bees don’t like overcrowding in the hive.  When there are too many bees in a hive a bunch decide to leave all and once and swarm away to create a new colony.  I’m sold that a swarm of bees can be caught but that’s not for me.  It’s better to add to their housing.
We also bought two more bee packages this year. My friend’s wife isn’t fond of the bees and couldn’t tolerate two more hives on their property so I decided to put one hive in my backyard.  I’m lucky; my wife likes bees – at least for now.  I researched hive location and spent several days tracking the sun’s path in our backyard to find just the right place for my new hive.  The perfect place turns out to be near the top of the hill in front of a small grove of four pine trees.  The hive gets early morning sun and is protected from afternoon boiling sun and strong westerly winds by the pine trees.  The bees came from Florida and our Wisconsin weather has been an adjustment.  We’ve had highs in the mid-40’s so I didn’t see any bees for three days.  The other day I checked to make sure the queen had successfully exited her traveling apartment – she did.  The bees were all huddled together in the center of the hive keeping themselves warm.
So far so good.  I’ve decided to keep a bee log this year so we create a record of what we did and when we did it.  I think agriculture, including beekeeping, is the mother of record keeping in human society.     
  

​The Writer’s Institute April 15-17 was exhausting and I can’t really explain why.  I found that I was tense during the entire conference which was manifested by shoulders as tight as a brass drum.  I tried taking ibuprophen with no relief.  Next I tried to use an analgesic rub which provided temporary relief.  The real problem was internal stress I had about the conference; I was conflicted and didn’t want to address the issues.
As I wrote in last week’s blog, I enjoy meeting other writers and learning about their writing life.  I was also successful in recruiting 22 people to be guests on my radio program, Conversations with Wisconsin Artists.  Attending the writer’s conference also inspires me to reflect on my writing life.  After this conference I reflected on the direction, arc and plot of my manuscript on the third novel in the Ian Murphy series.  When I began writing the first novel, more than 15 years ago, I couldn’t imagine writing more than one book, let alone, three books in a series – a trilogy.  I’ve thought about developing a presentation on how I accidently wrote a trilogy, but I have to finish the third book before I take on such a task. 
On Sunday evening I decided that I would take a break from writing for a week.  It takes a lot of self control and suspending self-judgment for me to take a break.  I wanted to give myself the time to determine how I wanted the story arc to be to finish the novel.  I had a vague idea how I wanted my protagonist to resolve his issues and transform himself.  I took last week off from writing to add details to my general ideas. 
I began with an end point that I knew I wanted and then worked backward on how Ian would get to that point.  I tossed a variety of ideas around for days.  After four days I had constructed the rough outline of events and a final conclusion.  At that point I knew it was time for me to consult Brigid to determine if my ideas worked.  I was pleased that she validated my approach and blessed my idea of having Ian break new literary ground by writing a memoir based stage play.
All writers must learn to listen to that little internal voice that talks to you.  All of us have our own way of listening to the universe.   I am especially fortunate to have Brigid to by my side guiding me along the path.   

​Last week I attended the Wisconsin Writer’s Institute presented by the UW-Madison Division of Continuing Education.  In the last 16 years I’ve only missed one conference.  One of the reasons I like to attend the conference is to meet other authors. Specifically, I don’t mean to network.  To me networking implies intentionally meeting people that will benefit your own career.  Networking is selfish.  I just like to meet other authors to share experiences and learn from them.
On the first morning I sat with a group of people who looked engaging.  To my right I met a man attending the conference from Hong Kong.  I asked him why he chose the Writer’s Institute among all of those across the country as long as he was traveling from Hong Kong.  He chose this conference because of the critique services available and the variety of agents available to talk with.  I asked him to share the plot of his novel, he did, but all I remember was that it was complex.
On my left sat a retired teacher who wanted to learn how to write children’s books.  His way of giving back was to use his experience as a teacher to write engaging children’s books.  Next to him was a Japanese man who wanted to write about his Grandfather’s experience living in America during World War II.  His grandfather wasn’t in one of the camps but did have some interesting experiences.  The man sitting across from me wanted to write his autobiography but he didn’t say much about it.  A woman at our table was writing a memoir about her nine year battle with cancer.
One of the most frequently asked questions is:  have you published?  When I shared with those at my table that I had published two historical fiction novels they fell silent for a moment and then bombarded me with questions.  I shared as much as I could before the morning keynote speaker started.
I met a playwright who specializes in writing 10 minute plays.  The discipline it takes to write an entire play, which I learned is about 10 pages of script, is beyond belief.  It makes flash fiction look as easy as falling off a log.
I met an editor who is as passionate about starting a co-op grocery store in her community as she is about her profession.  I found it refreshing that she used her skills in writing and editing for another purpose, such as a creating a co-op.  Writers too are multi-dimensional and engaged with their local communities.
During the second day of the conference there is an opportunity for authors to sell their books.  A total of 30 attending the conference dragged books and promotional material to a room provided with small tables and a name placard.  I strolled through the “bookstore” and stopped to talk with many of the authors.  One author gave me her book only asking that I promise to write a review of her book on Amazon.  Who could resist? I cannot forget the desperation in her voice.  I asked when the book was launched and if she self-published.  She had launched her self-published book in February not been successful in gaining attention.  An experience I know well.  I’ll post a review in the next month and e-mail her to let her know I kept my promise.
Memoir has become very popular and at least half the people I met were working in that genre.  There was an agent’s question and answer session.  The agents explained that they are not interested in memoir because it meant you would only write one book and they wanted to represent someone who would write two or more books.  Have the agents forgotten about Frank McCourt?  I thought there view of memoir was harsh and crushed the hopes of many in the room.
I don’t know how many of the 350 or so attendees have published either traditional or self-published but my guess is less than 5% based on my less than scientific survey.  The one thing we all share, however, is the dream.     

​Many authors have at best a reticence and at worst a fear of being at a table, competing with a number of other authors, to sell your books at an author event.  I want to share a few strategies and techniques with you to make your author event successful.
First, determine prior to the event how you define success.  I strongly suggest that your definition NOT be how many books you sell.  In the past two years I’ve attend at least two dozen events and the only certainty is that you can’t tell what will be good sales days and which ones won’t.  As an example, the first day of the Irish Book and Music Celebration in Chicago last year I didn’t sell more than two books.  I was discouraged and wanted to drive back to Wisconsin Sunday morning.  I decided to return early Sunday morning with the option of leaving by noon if there wasn’t traffic past my table.  Guess what?  I sold out Sunday morning and still left by 12:30.  Who would know?
I don’t make my goal book sales directly.  My financial goal is to cover direct cost from book sales.  It is important that there are other goals other than financial.  My other goals for a book event include:  having good conversations with readers; meeting and engaging with other authors to share experiences; and, making connections with others who can help in your journey like book reviewers, book club members, organizers of other book events and etc.
From an author’s perspective, a book event is the one time you will be able to meet readers and talk about your work.  Since I write historical fiction there is a gateway for a conversation to talk about the historical period or the location of the novel.  An author can be selfish and talk about themselves and their work.
People love to meet authors.  For most people writing is a mystery and want to talk with the person who accomplished the feat of writing and publishing a book.  As a friend of mine likes to ask:  where do you come up with all those words?  Take advantage of the fact that people are interested in who you are and how you do what you do.
A few simple techniques will help you begin the conversation.  First, recall from last week’s blog how the table was set up.  The idea is to catch the reader’s eye with your display.  As people walk by your table watch their eyes.  You can detect that moment they pause and you can actually see they are interested or curious.  At that point start a conversation with a question.  Each event I try a different question.  Some I’ve used are:  Do you like to read historical fictions?  Are you familiar with The Troubles in Ireland?  Do you like a good Irish story?  Would you like to read a brief review of my book(s)?  Would you like to read the back of the book blurb?  Would you like a book mark?  Would you like a piece of candy? You get the idea.
Another technique is that while tiring, I always stand, I don’t sit behind my table.  When you stand you’re showing the attendees that you meet them at their level and want to engage them.  Sitting behind the table requires the attendees to look down at you and having a conversation is much more difficult.  Yes, it can be tiring.  After many events the calves of my legs ache.  Stand anyway, it shows the attendees respect and interest in them.
The final technique is that I NEVER ask people if they want to buy my book.  That states the obvious and pressures them into making a decision.  I let the attendees say:  “Yes, I’ll buy the book.  How can I pay?”  There is so much variety at a book event and I would guess not more than 10 percent of the attendees will be interested in your genre. 
After the attendee agrees to buy the book I offer to sign it and always ask how to spell the name they want in the book (often the book is a present so it’s not the buyer’s name).  Also, I ALWAYS write a several sentence message, not just a signature.  The buyer will watch me write in their book and when I hand it to them they read my message immediately.  The reaction is always a smile and “Thank you.”  You’ve now made a real connection with a reader and that’s the best part of author events.  
      

​Tis the season for writer conferences, library book sales, and festivals galore in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest.  There are many opportunities for authors to make presentations and have an opportunity to sell your books and make direct contact with readers.  I know that many authors, especially independent authors shun the chance to directly sell your books.  My advice is to overcome your fear and introversion and take advantage of an event that allows you to directly meet with readers.  This will be a two part series.  Today’s blog will cover how to prepare to sell your books at an author’s event.  Next week I’ll talk give you tips on how to capture the readers’ attention and engage them in a way that leads to sales.
In most cases authors are provided with a stand 3’ x 6’ table.  I suggest you have a table cloth to cover the table.  A tablecloth is useful because it can attract readers and help you establish a theme for your book display.  Since I write about the Troubles in Ireland, my table cloth is a Kelly green.  It also helps cover the table so that you can hide book boxes and other things underneath the table without looking sloppy.  Second, have a simple display.  My display has two posters and books at either end of the table.  I set one book on a bookstand and then place no more than four copies of each book behind each book stand.  The book placed on the stand is for browsers to pick-up and thumb through or read the back of the book blurb.  I have seen many authors stack 20-30 books on the table. In front of each book stand I fan out about ten bookmarkers.  I’ve watched readers walk by these tables and it must be overwhelming because nine out of ten times they don’t stop.  I keep a small supply of books on the table so show scarcity.  In the center of the table I place a small bowl with finger candies or Halloween size candies.
You need some display to attract readers to your table.  In the past I’ve used 30”x24” signs of my book covers.  These do attract readers but are cumbersome and take a lot of space.  Recently I hired marketing guru Valerie Biel www.valeriebiel.com to design two 8 ½ x 11 “ table posters for me.  They are dramatic and take up a small amount of space on the table.
You should adapt your table display to the event.  For example, when attending the Irish Book and Music Celebration I place copies of my book review published in the Irish American News.  The Irish American News is published in Chicago and attendees are familiar with the paper and the reviewer, Frank West. 
Finally, you should have a sign letting readers know what payment you accept.  I accept, cash, credit or check.  For cash transactions make sure you have change to cover all book sales.  For credit I use a Square.  The Square takes a small percentage for each transaction but is easy to use with your smartphone and deposits are made directly into your account.  There is a version of the Square that accepts the chip card but it costs $40.00.  You can get a refund after a lot of transactions.  Personally, with occasional sales, I found the standard free Square reader works great. 
I purchased a 15 x 14 x 12” plastic tote with a locking lid and fit all of these items in the tote.  So I use one tote and one box of books and I’m ready for the show.
If anyone has questions or comments, please e-mail me at:  [email protected].